#daughters of bilitis

[vintagesapphics]

there’s dykes in Oklahoma too! (1972)

#Arcus Flynn #LHEF #Lesbian Herstory Educational Foundation #1970s #lgbt history #lesbian #wlw #lgbt #vintage lesbians #queer history #history #sapphic #lesbian history #DOB #Daughters of Bilitis

[queerasfact]

Happy birthday Del Martin!

Del Martin was born on the 5th of May, 1921. In 1950, she met Phyllis Lyon, who would become her life-long partner of over 50 years. Together, Del and Phyllis founded the Daughter of Bilitis in San Francisco, the USA’s first social and political organisation for lesbians. They continued their activism throughout their lives.

Del and Phyllis married in February 2004 when San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newom ordered the city to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, and again in 2008, when same-sex marriage became officially legal in California. Del passed away on 27 August 2008, just two months after the wedding.

If you’d like to hear more of Del and Phyllis’ story, check out this incredible 1989 interview with them from Making Gay History.

[Images: Undated black-and-white photo of Del (right) and Phyllis sitting side-by-side; Del (right) and Phyllis embracing at their wedding in 2004.]

#queer history #del martin #phyllis lyon #lesbian history #lgbt #lgbtq #queer #wlw #daughters of bilitis

[spaceshipsandpurpledrank]

#talkin #tik tok #food #recipes #wlw #thisisiona #lesbians #lesbian #queer history #lgtbqia+ #lgtbtq #del martin #phyllis lyon #daughters of bilitis

[lesbiansovereverything]

Lesbians do not owe our rights to anyone but ourselves.

#pride #lesbians #daughters of bilitis #lesbian history

[actually-a-dyke]

The Lavender Scare was a moral panic about homosexuals in the US government. People suspected of being gay were fired from their government jobs because it was believed they were a national security risk during the red scare. It was believed that many gay people were mentally ill and therefore susceptible to communism, they were also more likely to be targets of blackmail by communists. This normalized the persecution of homosexuals in the late 40s and 50s. As a result, the Mattachine Society and the Daughters of Bilitis were formed. The Exutive Order made during this time stayed in effect until the 90s, and was completely repealed in 2017 by Barrack Obama.

#gay #lgbtq #queer #lgbt #lgbt history #lgbt pride #lgbtqplus #queer history #queer community #gay history #lgbtqia #lgbtq history #queer stuff #gay interest #mattachine society #the mattachine society #daughters of bilitis #lavender scare #the lavender scare #1950s #decade: 1940s

[frauenfiguren]

18/2023: Del Martin, 5. Mai 1921

Sie gründete mit ihrer Partnerin Phyllis Lyon die Daughters of Bilitis; nach 50 Jahren Beziehung konnten die beiden heiraten.

Fair use Dorothy Louise Taliaferro kam in San Francisco zur Welt und studierte Publizistik an der University of California, Berkeley und dem San Francisco Stat College. Einen Doktorgrad verdiente sie sich am Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality. Sie heiratete einen Mann, der ihr den Nachnamen Martin gab, doch die Ehe, aus der eine Tochter hervorging, endete nach vier…

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#aktivistin #aktivistys des intersektionalen feminismus #alice b. toklas lgbt democratic club #daughters of bilitis #del martin #ehe #frauenfiguren #gleichgeschlechtliche partnerschaft #häusliche gewalt #kalender #lesbianismus #making gay history #mattachine society #national organization for women #phyllis lyon #the ladder

[feedergoldfish]

"Memory of San Francisco" by Barbara Stephens. Published in The Ladder, Vol. 1 No. 9, June 1957.

The Ladder was the first nationally distributed lesbian periodical in the US. It was published monthly by the Daughters of Bilitis, the first lesbian rights group in the US, which was founded in San Francisco in 1955. The Daughters were subject to surveillance by local police, the CIA and the FBI.

From the Library of Congress research guide, LGBTQIA+ Studies: A Resource Guide.

#barbara stephens #poetry #the ladder #san francisco #daughters of bilitis #lgbt

[eggtrolls]

is there a way to say 'the history of LGBTQ+ rights in the United States is long and varied and statements like "gay rights are all because of Black and Latina trans women" are both ahistorical and reductive of the enormous diversity in the movement's origins from well before the Stonewall Inn was even constructed' in a way that's like. funny

#I know most of these children on tiktok can't read but there are several podcasts I could direct you to about the Daughters of Bilitis #and the Mattachine Society. the Cooper Donuts riot in 1959. #if you've ever been to a gay bar and complained about it after leaving because it was homonormative you owe Dick Leitsch money. #also I think it's a bad idea to hold any group of people up on a pedestal as inherently good or in a saviour light so there's that

[gingus-doon]

omfg i always manage to mistakingly think there is nothing left to Know that will shock me and make me reconsider concerning feminist and queer histories but oh my mother fuckin god yall DID YALL KNOW..ALISON BECHDEL SUPPORTED BI LESBIANS

like i just hhn i wouldve had no idea i would not have even known the concept EXISTED and i, here, stand on neither side as i don't know enough about anything to make a firm point (i lean against but hearing ppl say trans women are facing the brunt of anti bi-lesbian sentiment & the strange insistence on Lesbians Cannot Like Men when trans men in lesbian history, right there-- [how can you say this without undermining trans men's manhood? i don't think you can. hence im content to describe lesbian relationships as those without cis men {though not all relationships without cis men are lesbian relationships, for ex trans gay guys or straight trans relationships} & im not one to brush aside the queer history of transmasc lesboys so easily when i know. So many very lesbian tguys] makes me reconsider)

ITS SO FUCKING NUTS TO REMEMBER THAT FEMINIST AND QUEER PPL BEFORE US ALREADY HAD THESE DISCUSSIONS ALREADY SPOKE WHAT NEEDED TO BE SPOKEN IN MANY CASES AND FORGOING THE ADVICE OF OUR FEMALE AND TRANSSEXUAL FOREBEARERS JUST LEADS US TO HAVE THE SAME POINTLESS DISCOURSES ON TUMBLR DOT COM AGAIN AND SEVER COMMUNITY OVER IT AGAIN AND AGAIN OH MY GOD ITS LIKE A CURSE ITS LIKE WE'RE SISYPHUS ALIENATED FROM OUR TEACHERS CONDEMNED TO ROLL THE SAME BOULDER UP THAT HILL

im just going fucking nuts bcauae it's always like this i will cry ahahhh like

LESLIE FEINBERG. HIR PROPHETIC STATEMENT

AND ITS HAPPENINGGGG ITS HAPPENING THERE ARE TERFS AND THE SEX ABOLITIONIST RADICALLY QUEER RADICAL FEMINISM OF OUR FOREMOTHERS HAS BEEN ABANDONED AND NOW NO ONE LOOKS TO THAT ESTEEMED TRADITION BESIDES A FEW BECAUSE EVERYONE HATES TERFS (rightfully so) BUT DONT KNWO THE EXTENT OF RADICAL FEMINISM UGHDHHHG OOHghhuhh OuhchhHHhn SHAKING .

AND I JUST LEARNED ABOUT RIKI WILCHINS AND THEY WERE A TRANSSEXUAL LESBIAN FEMINST!!!!! TRANSSEXUAL LESBIAN FEMINIST A BEAUTIFUL PHRASE AND NOW WERE IN AN AGE WHERE QUEER NON-LESBIANS ARE LESPHOBIC AND DAMN THE ENTIRETY OF LESBIAN FEMINISM WHILE TERFS DAMN THE ENTIRETY OF QUEERNESS AS IF LESBIANISM CAN EXIST WITHOUT IT OR TRANSNESS AND I JUST.........IDK im crying im rocking back and forth i am holding my temples those who do not know their history will be doomed to repeat it truly

#vOmignting. trhowijg UP #queer history #feminist history #transgender history #leslie feinberg #alison bechdel #lesbian history #bi lesbian #lesbian feminism #radical feminism #transfeminism #i did queer history and i didntn eveb know the daughters of bilitis im a terirble woman lover. i will be better #abourb to start sobbing just syraight up sobbing #til #my ppl are lost frfr #i am so unwell! #this is why non-white transsexual lesbians are the smartest people ever. they know what's up #they know the history because it concerns them deeply

[markadoo]

#gay community news #this is so stupid #hey i wonder if daughters of bilitis got mad at dykes on bikes for stealing their acronym

[highintensity-dyke]

Phyllis Lyons & Del Martin

from issue #1 of the zine series, Lavender Liberation | collage and writing by me

“Nothing was ever accomplished by hiding in a dark corner.” - Del Martin

Though both Del Martin and Phyllis Lyons majored in journalism at the University of Berkeley, they did not meet until 1949. They found each other through work in Seattle, Washington at an office party. They hit it off quickly and began dating in the following weeks. They moved in together and were practically inseparable by 1953.

Moving in together meant moving towns, which pulled them both away from their close knit lesbian communities and threw them into the uncharted waters of San Francisco. Due to their shared shy nature, Martin and Lyons kept to themselves. The pair didn’t venture into the lesbian bars to make friends due to the danger of assault or arrest that was ever present. It took two years before both women began to explore the gay and lesbian spaces they had stayed away from. The bar scene turned out to be just as dangerous as they had thought, leading them to follow the suggestion of a friend and begin meeting at one another's houses instead.

As meetings became regular, it became a secret society of sorts and the couple agreed that a secret society needed a name. Del named the group ‘Daughters of Bilitis (DOB)’ after a book entitled Songs of Bilitis that named Bilitis as a fictional contemporary of Sappho (all hail the mother of lesbians.) Now, with a name and regular meetings underway, the social group grew and became a more structured and organized unit.

Much of DOB’s growth stemmed from Del and Phyllis’ work as peer counselors to other women in their community. By 1955, they inadvertently turned DOB into a support group for the abandoned, hurt, and isolated lesbians of San Francisco. Teens kicked out by family, conversion therapy survivors, and everyone in between were safe with the DOB. The next issue became spreading awareness of their services, so those who needed them knew how to access them. The culture of silence and suppression within the press and general media was so present, that the members of DOB had no idea that a gay mens group, The Mattachine Society, had formed in the same city in 1950, or that in 1949 the first lesbian zine series was distributed in bars nearby the ones they frequented. Because accessibility to information about these other groups and events was so lacking, the DOB and other groups like it had no choice but to assume they were alone in their mission to provide resources to the queer community.

When they did finally find The Mattachine Society, they already had their own zine in the works- as did the men's group. The Ladder, named after the sapphic novel The Well of Loneliness, began in 1956 as a natural extension of DOB for the two journalism-minded founders. Though it was an effective way to spread the word, it also garnered the attention of the FBI. They began to try and infiltrate the DOB and build a case against them. Members had to work to evade the FBI when they held conferences in New York, (which they did successfully) and prioritize protecting their anonymity above all else. The Lavender Scare left both the DOB and the Mattachine Society vulnerable and distrustful towards the government. Eventually, The Ladder was spread nationwide and sparked Ladder Parties wherever it went.

Phyllis and Del were not done there, though. They also founded The Council on Religion and The Homosexual (CRH) in an effort to work with church leaders to endorse the proper treatment of gays and lesbains within their sermons. The group was gaining traction and, by New Years Eve, there was a fundraiser organized called the Mardi Gras Ball. The turn out was unheard of for gatherings of LGBTQ people, surpassing 500 people. Church leaders and a lawyer served as protection from the angry police. However, the barricade was still broken by officers, and they arrested innocent men and women for “crossdressing”. The fundraiser was remarked as the first major precursor to Stonewall.

Thanks to the work of Del, Phyllis, and other LGBTQ people of the 50’s, the Homophile Movement was officially underway and laying the groundwork for radical change.

Definitions:

Lavender Scare: A moral panic during the 50’s that played off the Red Scare and deemed gay people immoral communists. This led to many gay people being fired, in mass, from government jobs as well as FBI hunts against queer social groups.

The Homophile Movement: A movement characterized by representing gay and lesbian struggles in the 50’s and early 60’s. It focused on gaining acceptance from straight communities- radical for its time.

Ladder Parties: Sapphics would meet in secret to share their copies of The Ladder and discuss the articles in the safety of their homes, keeping them out of the bars and away from the police.

#lesbian #lesbian visibility week #Del Martin #Phyllis Lyons #the daughters of bilitis #the ladder #lavender liberation #queer history #wlw #lgbtq history #lgbtq #gay #gay liberation

[anissapierce]

Gay is good should've continued on like the slogan it was inspired by Black is beautiful. Partially bc its just a lil bit funny compared to its inspiration

#white gays I guess arentalways good at making names wholecloth #its always riffin on sth as much as i love daughters of bilitis as a name or mattachine society

[auxryn]

I need to come up with a Chapter name and color scheme for these pretties:

#poll #40k #space marines #results are not binding

[unapologeticallygay]

Martha Shelly is a Jewish activist lesbian and feminist.

She was involved in many forms of activism including the Vietnam anti war protests and was an ally to the Black Panthers. She joined the Daughters of Bilitis, a lesbian civil rights group, in 1967, and later went on to become president of the New York chapter. While working as a secretary in the office of fundraising for Barnard College, she joined the Student Homophile League.

After witnessing the Stonewall riots and seeing the public reaction Martha was inspired to organize a protest. With the DOB and the Mattachine Society they organized the first gay protest march in America, shortly after that, they formed the Gay Liberation Front. She became the face of the movement, going on tv programs and speaking at public events.

As a young adult her therapist put her through a conversation therapy of sorts, she insisted she try to be bisexual as to not “give up on half the world in her dating pool”. She tried for a while, getting with other gay men put in this program and went on to date bisexual activist Stephen Donaldson. But after her working with the GLF and getting more involved with her community she accepted herself as a lesbian.

At the time lesbians were considered a threat to the feminist movement. The president of The National Organization for Women Betty Friedan called lesbians in the movement a “lavender menace” and the organization distanced themselves from lesbian causes and even omitted the sponsorship of the DOB. Women from DOB and the GLF, including Martha, joined together to create the group ‘Lavender Menace’ in response. Together, dawning shirts and signs they protested at a NOW event for lesbian causes to be included.

My job was to jump up on the stage and grab the mic. I explained that we were here because lesbians had been excluded, and we wanted to talk about our issues. Then I put it to the audience. "Let's take a vote how many want to continue with the panel discussion? How many want to hear what we have to say?" The women voted overwhelmingly to hear from us. Then other Menaces marched down the aisle and stepped up onto the stage, while a few remained in the audience. A freewheeling discussion ensued. At their next annual conference NOW revised their platform to include lesbian rights.

The group was soon after renamed the Radicalesbians.

Despite members of the group partaking in it, Martha did not consider herself a lesbian separatist. She liked the idea of lesbian only spaces but thought that splitting the gay movement into smaller groups would weaken the movement as a whole.

Sources:

We Set the Night on Fire: Igniting the Gay Revolution by Martha Shelley (2023)

Martha Shelley - Wikipedia

#martha shelley #lgbt history #lesbian history #queer history #feminist history #lesbianism #lgbt education #activists #people #feminism #lgbtq community #lesbians in action

[actually-a-dyke]

Stonewall by Martin Duberman, 1993, pages 97-100

#gay #lgbtq #queer #lgbt #lgbt pride #lgbtqplus #lgbt history #queer community #queer history #gay history #lgbtq history #lgbtqiia+ #lgbt books #martin duberman #mattachine #daughters of bilitis #society for individual rights #1960s #1960s history

[frauenfiguren]

16/2023: Ernestine Eckstein, 23. April 1941

"Ich habe das Gefühl, dass die Homophilenbewegung nur Teil einer viel größeren Bewegung zur Auslöschung von Labels ist." Ernestine Eckstein, 1965

By Kay Tobin, Fair use Bis sie 1963, mit 22 Jahren, nach New York zog, wusste Ernestine Eckstein selbst nicht, dass sie lesbisch ist. Sie hatte sich zwar zur Frauen hingezogen gefühlt, doch da ihr nicht klar war, dass es diese sexuelle Orientierung gab, hatte sie es als rein menschliche Zuneigung betrachtet. (2, 3) Vorher hatte sie an der Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana,…

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#aktivistys des intersektionalen feminismus #barbara gittings #bürgerrechtsbewegung #bwoa #christoper street day #daughters of bilitis #ernestine eckstein #frank kameny #frauenfiguren #kalender #kay lahusen #lilli vincenz #making gay history #mattachine society #menschenrechtsaktivistin #naacp #the ladder